Shatter or Wax? – What Makes Them Different

When it comes to has oil, you’ve probably heard a lot of names being thrown around; shatter, wax, budder, earwax, and on and on. At a glance, they all look relatively the same. All are sticky, tan or brown-ish goo balls that take you to an immediate [10] both on top of a bowl and all by themselves.

So, why so many names, then? The reason is because while the different types of hash oils look similar, chemically they can – and are – very different.

So, the next time you stop in to the dispensary take a little hash knowledge with you so you always know what you smoke, shatter or wax or otherwise.

Free the Radicals, Man

Ok, while not quite actually freeing radicals, the main difference between shatter or wax or any other type of hash oil is the finished product consistency.

Shatter, for instance, is brittle and rigid whereas earwax or budder is a bit more malleable and flexible. This is due to the amount of what’s known as ‘terpenes’ in the oil extraction process.

Terpenes are similar to free radicals in the way they behave during THC extraction, hence the subtitle.

Basically, if the plant source for the hash oil THC(A) is not fully dried when beginning the oil extraction process, it will contain more terpenes than a fully dried THC source.

Terpenes evaporate over time during the drying process, much like a much more well known liquid constituent…water vapor. The more terpenes are allowed to evaporate prior to the extraction process, the dryer and more brittle the product: shatter.

The less terpenes allowed to evaporate, the more rubbery the product: wax and budder.

While differences in amount of THC vs. THCA extracted does manipulate the type of hash oil, the bare bones of it is the difference between shatter or wax or any other type of hash ‘nickname’ is appearance and texture of the final product. That’s it!